you, Barney. It means the world to me. I’ll see you at seven.”
When the call ended, Barney stared through the windshield, going back over the conversation. It meant the world to her? Pretty strong language for a first date. A proposition? Some kind of business opportunity, maybe? He wouldn’t let himself hope for anything personal. She’d made it pretty clear that any kind of relationship was out of the question for her right now.
“It means the world to me
.
”
She’d meant that. The words echoed in his ears with the sound of her emotion-laden voice.
He couldn’t put his finger on the reason why, but he had a bad feeling about this.
Chapter Four
Once his shift ended at six, Barney got into his blue Dodge Ram and raced for home. He had no time for a shower. After throwing on civilian clothes, he grabbed a quick shave, slapped on aftershave, and then added a splash of cologne. His horses would get fed a little late tonight, but it wouldn’t harm them. Depending on the road conditions, the drive to Crystal Falls took anywhere from a half hour to forty-five minutes. He didn’t want to be late.
The dumpy little Italian place was even worse than Barney remembered. The gravel parking lot had iced-over mud holes deep enough to bury a Volkswagen Bug. The pale blue clapboard siding of the building needed paint, the windows looked cloudy with grime, and when he ascended the steps to the entrance, he felt the wooden planks give a little under his weight.
The interior wasn’t much better. The stench of rancid oil blasted him. Pots of fake green ivy sat on dividing walls that formed eating areas, and the leaves looked coated with dust. The red-checkered tablecloths were plastic. The flatware sat on paper napkins. He saw only two couples in the diningroom and a handful of people at the bar in the back. Taffeta sure knew how to pick them.
Glancing around, Barney didn’t see her. He concluded that she hadn’t arrived yet. When an older woman came to seat him, Barney held up two fingers and said, “Do you have a secluded table where I can watch the entrance? My date isn’t here yet.”
The waitress pulled two plastic-covered menus from a rack and led him to a bistro table tucked into a corner near the bar. Barney took one of the two stools and watched the front door through a tangle of gray-green ivy leaves.
His breath hitched in his throat when Taffeta finally walked in. She wore a pink, figure-hugging knit top, a tight black skirt that reached to just above her knees, and sassy strapped heels the same color as the skirt. Boy, oh, boy, did the girl ever have legs! To hell with dinner. He wanted to go straight for dessert, which, if he had his druthers, would be her.
He waved so she would see him. She nodded and moved toward him with purposeful strides and a seductive swing of her hips.
Holy crap
. He’d known Taffeta could be a knockout. Kissable pink gloss shimmered on her lips again. Her eyes, deftly enhanced with shadow, seemed to dominate her face. Not that he could stay focused on her face for very long. She was dressed to kill, and she was stunning enough to knock a man on his ass from fifty feet away. This was a hell of a turnaround from a woman who came to work disguised as the local bag lady and had told him point-blank that she didn’t date.
With an upward twist of one hip, she perched on the tallish stool across from him.
“Thank you so much for meeting me,” she said.
The shakiness he’d heard in her voice earlier hadn’t been due to a bad phone connection, after all. With visibly trembling hands, she toyed with her flatware. Under the blush that she had applied to her cheeks, her skin was drained of color. She was one very upset lady.
“Taffeta, what’s wrong?” he asked.
She finally met his gaze. “Can I trust you with a secret that may destroy my life in Mystic Creek?”
That wasn’t at all what Barney had expected to hear. He searched her eyes and saw both fear and panic in their
When the call ended, Barney stared through the windshield, going back over the conversation. It meant the world to her? Pretty strong language for a first date. A proposition? Some kind of business opportunity, maybe? He wouldn’t let himself hope for anything personal. She’d made it pretty clear that any kind of relationship was out of the question for her right now.
“It means the world to me
.
”
She’d meant that. The words echoed in his ears with the sound of her emotion-laden voice.
He couldn’t put his finger on the reason why, but he had a bad feeling about this.
Chapter Four
Once his shift ended at six, Barney got into his blue Dodge Ram and raced for home. He had no time for a shower. After throwing on civilian clothes, he grabbed a quick shave, slapped on aftershave, and then added a splash of cologne. His horses would get fed a little late tonight, but it wouldn’t harm them. Depending on the road conditions, the drive to Crystal Falls took anywhere from a half hour to forty-five minutes. He didn’t want to be late.
The dumpy little Italian place was even worse than Barney remembered. The gravel parking lot had iced-over mud holes deep enough to bury a Volkswagen Bug. The pale blue clapboard siding of the building needed paint, the windows looked cloudy with grime, and when he ascended the steps to the entrance, he felt the wooden planks give a little under his weight.
The interior wasn’t much better. The stench of rancid oil blasted him. Pots of fake green ivy sat on dividing walls that formed eating areas, and the leaves looked coated with dust. The red-checkered tablecloths were plastic. The flatware sat on paper napkins. He saw only two couples in the diningroom and a handful of people at the bar in the back. Taffeta sure knew how to pick them.
Glancing around, Barney didn’t see her. He concluded that she hadn’t arrived yet. When an older woman came to seat him, Barney held up two fingers and said, “Do you have a secluded table where I can watch the entrance? My date isn’t here yet.”
The waitress pulled two plastic-covered menus from a rack and led him to a bistro table tucked into a corner near the bar. Barney took one of the two stools and watched the front door through a tangle of gray-green ivy leaves.
His breath hitched in his throat when Taffeta finally walked in. She wore a pink, figure-hugging knit top, a tight black skirt that reached to just above her knees, and sassy strapped heels the same color as the skirt. Boy, oh, boy, did the girl ever have legs! To hell with dinner. He wanted to go straight for dessert, which, if he had his druthers, would be her.
He waved so she would see him. She nodded and moved toward him with purposeful strides and a seductive swing of her hips.
Holy crap
. He’d known Taffeta could be a knockout. Kissable pink gloss shimmered on her lips again. Her eyes, deftly enhanced with shadow, seemed to dominate her face. Not that he could stay focused on her face for very long. She was dressed to kill, and she was stunning enough to knock a man on his ass from fifty feet away. This was a hell of a turnaround from a woman who came to work disguised as the local bag lady and had told him point-blank that she didn’t date.
With an upward twist of one hip, she perched on the tallish stool across from him.
“Thank you so much for meeting me,” she said.
The shakiness he’d heard in her voice earlier hadn’t been due to a bad phone connection, after all. With visibly trembling hands, she toyed with her flatware. Under the blush that she had applied to her cheeks, her skin was drained of color. She was one very upset lady.
“Taffeta, what’s wrong?” he asked.
She finally met his gaze. “Can I trust you with a secret that may destroy my life in Mystic Creek?”
That wasn’t at all what Barney had expected to hear. He searched her eyes and saw both fear and panic in their
Similar Books
